1. Field of the Invention
This invention belongs to the art of a floor surface cleaning machine called "scrubber" for cleaning the surface of a floor by brushing it with a brush while traveling thereon, and more particularly, it relates to an improvement of a squeegee assembly to be used in a floor surface cleaning machine, in which a dirty liquid is sucked up from the floor surface for collection into a dirty liquid storage tank after cleaning.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
A typical conventional squeegee assembly for the use in a floor surface cleaning machine comprises a squeegee body, a pair of flexible inner and outer blades each made of nibber material are forwardly/backwardly spacedly arranged in parallel relation on an upper surface of the bottom of the squeegee body, and a blower for applying a sucking function to an interval between the pair of blades through a tube and a hose so that a dirty liquid on the floor surface is sucked up for collection into a dirty liquid storage tank.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining a construction of the above-mentioned conventional squeegee assembly SK. In this illustration, reference character Z denotes a cover member having a configuration that is laterally elongated as a whole; X and Y, a pair of flexible blades forwardly/backwardly spacedly arranged in parallel relation within the cover member Z; E, a support member for supporting thereon the pair of flexible blades X, Y; and R, a connection port for connecting a distal end of a vacuum hose (not shown), respectively. In this conventional squeegee assembly, a suction force of the blower loaded on the floor surface cleaning machine prevails on or acts on an interval between the pair of flexible blades X, Y via the connection port R through the vacuum hole, then via a suction port Ra, a support chamber ZH, and an inlet port Ea, so that a dirty liquid DW gathered to the interval between the pair of flexible blades X and Y is sucked tip from the floor surface F.
In accordance with the travel of the squeegee assembly SK, the dirty liquid DW gathered into the interval between the pair of flexible blades X and Y is, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, raised in such a manner to climb up along an inner wall surface of the rear flexible blade Y, the dirty liquid DW being then partly gradually peeled off in the form of water drops Wa as illustrated in FIG. 8 and sucked through the inlet port Ea for collection.
However, the above conventional art has the following shortcomings in spite of its many other advantages. The dirty liquid DW, which is actually sucked through the inlet port EA for collection, is only a part (not all) of the dirty liquid DW which has climbed up along the inner wall surface of the rear flexible blade Y. Moreover, even the dirty liquid DW, which has been peeled off in the form of water drops Wa, is not totally sucked through the inlet port Ea and it is left as being dropped again on the floor surface F. Accordingly, a sucking efficiency is very bad, and the dirty liquid DW, which was once gathered by the pair of flexible blades X, Y, is returned to and remained on the floor surface F for long time without being sucked up.
It is true that the problem of shortage of the sucking force would be obviated to some extent by increasing the sucking force by means of a large signed blower design which is power up. However, this would eventually give rise to another problem, namely, noise. If the blower is designed to be larger in size and greater in power than necessary, noise is resultantly generated. In addition, there are other problems in that the floor surface cleaning machine is enlarged in size and the cost is increased.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above problems inherent in the prior art.